Grant Application Package Cooperative Agreement to Support the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) Project Summary / Abstract The STDF is a global partnership and trust fund that supports developing countries in building their capacity to implement international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards, guidelines and recommendations as a means to improve their human, animal and plant health status and ability to gain or maintain access to markets. The STDF was established in 2004 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Other organizations involved in SPS-related technical cooperation, donors contributing funds to the Facility, and developing country experts also participate. STDF's vision is that improved SPS capacity in developing countries supports sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, food security and environmental protection. Its mandate is to: (i) increase SPS awareness, mobilize resources, strengthen collaboration, identify and disseminate good practice; and (ii) provide support and funding for the development and implementation of projects that promote compliance with international SPS requirements. In achieving its aims, the STDF acts as both a coordinating and a financing mechanism. The STDF is committed to the Paris Principles on Aid Effectiveness and to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.